This book really resonated with me and I wish I had read it years ago. The book is divided cleanly into 3 sections (Aspire, Success and Failure). The chapters are short and digestible and do not drag on.

As a microcap investor, our job is not sexy, the outcomes are not consistent and the harder you work doesn’t necessarily translate into better performance. At least, that’s my opinion.

I have this feeling that the more I learn the more I don’t know. The more experience I have as an employee, father, friend, investor, etc. the more I realize that everyone is trying to figure things out to the best of their ability.

As a lifter, I felt stronger when I first pulled 400lb than when I first pulled 500lb. It’s a fascinating dichotomy as you develop as a person with curiosity and a willingness to grow.

Anyways, some of my favorite passages were:

What is rare is not raw talent, skill, or even confidence, but humility, diligence, and self-awareness.

Let the others slap each other on the back while you’re back in the lab or the gym or pounding the pavement. Plug that hole—that one, right in the middle of your face—that can drain you of your vital life force. Watch what happens. Watch how much better you get.

Impressing people is utterly different from being truly impressive.

When you are just starting out, we can be sure of a few fundamental realities: 1) You’re not nearly as good or as important as you think you are; 2) You have an attitude that needs to be readjusted; 3) Most of what you think you know or most of what you learned in books or in school is out of date or wrong.

There’s no one to perform for. There is just work to be done and lessons to be learned, in all that is around us.

The farther you travel down that path of accomplishment, whatever it may be, the more often you meet other successful people who make you feel insignificant. It doesn’t matter how well you’re doing; your ego and their accomplishments make you feel like nothing—just as others make them feel the same way. It’s a cycle that goes on ad infinitum . . . while our brief time on earth—or the small window of opportunity we have here—does not.